hypertext

noun

hy·​per·​text ˈhī-pər-ˌtekst 

: a database format in which information related to that on a display can be accessed directly from the display

also : material (such as text) in this format

hypertextual

ˌhī-pər-ˈteks-chə-wəl 

-chəl

adjective

Did you know?

Since hyper- generally means "above, beyond", hypertext is something that's gone beyond the limitations of ordinary text. Thus, unlike the text in a book, hypertext permits you, by clicking with a mouse, to immediately access text in one of millions of different electronic sources. Hypertext is now so familiar that most computer users may not even know the word, which was coined by Ted Nelson back in the early 1960s. It took a few more years for hypertext to actually be created, by Douglas Engelbart, and then quite a few more years before the introduction of the World Wide Web in 1991.

Examples of hypertext in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That leaves this frenzied backstage glimpse not nearly as absorbing, as if everyone were a hypertext link to their future Wiki page instead of talented people in a tense moment, ready to gamble on something new. —Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024

His first effort, a command line tool for an existing hypertext platform called TiddlyWiki, fell flat with most of the IF world. —Anna Washenko, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing hypertext

• hypertext markup language
• hypertext transfer protocol

Kids Definition

hypertext

noun

hy·​per·​text ˈhī-pər-ˌtekst 

: a database method in which information related to that shown on a display screen can be accessed quickly from the display (as by a mouse click)